In 2019 we made a series of videos for St Michaels, who provide supported accommodation and day activities for Tasmanians with disabilities. The videos were produced for their website, which we also worked on and aimed to give potential clients a glimpse into what St Michaels has to offer.
Pre-production
St Michaels is based in Tasmania: Launceston to be exact. And the TCC team members who were going to do the filming travelled from mainland Australia. There was therefore a need for solid pre-production to ensure we filmed everything important that we needed.
Scripts are a large component in pre-production. They allow you to prepare shot lists and ensure you will have all the equipment to hand that you will need. Some of the videos included interviews, so organising in advance that you have a list of questions ready, will mean no wasted time.
Travelling from the mainland meant there would be no returning on another day to pick up any missed shots. So having a shot list ensures nothing is missed and that when it comes time to edit you have everything you need to create a cohesive narrative.
Production
As part of St Michaels is supported accommodation, filming in people’s living spaces needed to be as unobtrusive as possible. Limiting your setup, as well as working with real people – not actors – means flexibility is important. We were filming during a heat wave, so some outdoor activities had to be cancelled and replaced with new ones. Knowing what you need and what you can replace it with if you can’t get it, is important and it’s always better to have extra footage than not enough.
Post-production
Editing is where all your pre-production and production work comes together to form a compelling and informative narrative. For the St Michaels’ videos we included some voice overs to create more comprehensive content and not have every shot ‘face to camera’. This approach provides the audience with all the important information without it feeling like a lecture.
As St Michaels is in the disability sector making sure the videos were all easily accessible was essential, as well as having all the videos’ captions clearly readable at all times.
Background music can also help to set the tone with a video – with upbeat music assisting your audience to feel positively about the video and you.
Check out the videos we made for St Michaels here!